Teachers must not rely on curriculum to do the discipling.
While curriculum is good for keeping teachers on track and providing a scope and sequence for getting students through the Bible, curriculum alone is insufficient. Curriculum writers do not know your teachers’ particular students. Consequently, certain aspects of learning God’s Word needed by their students might not be emphasized. It is up to your teachers to assess where their students are spiritually to fill in the gaps.
Are they spiritual infants, children, adolescents, adults, or parents? The Discipling Students Toward Spiritual Growth resource available at MinTools.com will help your teachers better understand the different stages of spiritual growth to be able to identify the levels of their students.
In what areas do their students need more help?
(Clicking on the links below will take you to teacher training worksheets on discipling students in these areas to help get them to the next level.)
character & conduct
giving
outreach
prayer
relationships
serving
study of God’s Word
worship
Students tend to understand no more than one stage above where they are.
Train your teachers to ask the following questions as they prepare lessons Doing so will help them know if adjustments must be made to the curriculum.
- What do my students need to know about the next stage?
This provides the basis for setting a goal.
- What do my students need to feel about going to that stage?
This helps them with motivation to reach that goal.
- What do my students need to do to get to that stage?
This gets them started toward accomplishing the goal once they are motivated toward it.
If your teachers have students who have already reached spiritual parenthood, they need to ask this question as they prepare the lesson:
- What do my students need to know or feel to be encouraged to keep going on?